Sprinkler attachment for flatirons



Aug- 13, 1935. I Al v. JACKSON Er AL 2,011,285

SPRINKLER ATTACHMENT FOR FLATIRONS Filed June 20, 1934 Patented Aug. 13, 1935 SPRINKLER ATTACHMENT FOR LATIRONS Arthur V. Jackson and Augusta B. Jackson, Hercules, Calif.

,Application June 20, 1934, Serial No. 731,402

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a sprinkler attachment for flat irons. y

In the common practice of ironing clothes, starched pieces mustbe sprinkled and rolled several hours before ironing, usually the night before. If the quantity of clothes prepared for ironing is left in a rolled, dampened 'condition for too long a period of time, mildewed clothing will b the result. This often happens if the housewife is called. to other duties or unavoidably delays her ironing. In warm or dry weather large starched pieces, such as curtains, table linens, or doilies with light laces or sheer material, dry before it is possible to finish ironing the whole piece. The common practice for correcting this is dampening dried parts with a wet sponge or cloth. While ironing starched pieces wrinkles are occasionally ironed into the cloth which have to be re-dampened to be removed. All of this requires additional work and time, that is, trips to the kitchen sink or a bowl of water within reach.

The object of the present invention is to provide a sprinkler for fiat irons and the like whereby the clothing may be sprinkled at the time of ironing, thereby eliminating the necessity of sprinkling and rolling the clothes prior to the time of ironing; to provide a sprinkling device which may be attached to irons of different makes; to provide a spray nozzle which is adjustable to direct the spray over any area desired and which is capable of sprinkling wide or narrow surfaces as.

conditions may require; to provide means for catching and absorbing any drips of water leaking from the nozzle, and further, to provide a valve mechanism which can .be manipulated by the mere pressure of the thumb while ironing and whereby the delivery of water to the nozzle is instantly and readily regulated. The invention is shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a standard form of fiat iron showing the sprinkler attached thereto.

Fig.' 2 is a plan view of the 4sprinkler attachment, said view being'partially in section.

Fig. 3 is an` end view of the sprinkler attachment, said view being partially in section.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the sprinkler attachment partially in section.l

Fig.'5 is a sectional view of the sprinkler nozzle. Fig.'6 is a front view of the sprinkler nozzle. Referring to the drawing' in detail, and particularly. Figs. 1 to 3, A indicates a standard form of flat iron, B the handleby which the iron is grasped when in use, and 2y the arms securing the handle to the iron.` Secured to the front arm of thehandle by means of a clamping screw 3 is a U-shaped bracket 4 and adjustably secured to one side of the bracket by a bolt and nut 5 is a housing generally indicated at C, which serves two functions, rst that of a support for a spray nozzle generally indicated at D, and secondly as a support for a valve whereby the flow of water to the spray nozzle is regulated.

The spray nozzle consists of a tube .6 secured in the forward end of the housing. This tube termi- 10 nates in a spherical member 1, see Fig. 5, which is substantially enclosed by a spray head 8. This head carries a diaphragm or plate 9 which is perforated as indicated at I0. The head is rotatable on the spherical member and is also tiltable there- 15 on and as the perforations are arranged in row formation the head can be rotated to position the perforations vertically or horizontally so as to spray narrow or wide surfaces, and by tilting the head the spray may be directed in any direction 20 required.

Water to supply the spray nozzle is delivered by a rubber or other flexible tube, such as indicated at I l. The rubber tube extends through the housing C and is connected to the end of the 25 tube 6 in any suitable manner. The ow of water through the tube is stopped by pinching the tube by means of a spring arm l2, forming a continuation of'the coil spring I3, one end of which is anchored or secured in the housing. The oppo- 3o site end of the arm extends through a slot I4 formed in one side of the housing and is provided with a pusher head or button I5, whereby the pinch arm which functions as a valve may be actuated.

The iron shown in the present instance is electrically operated and is provided with a socket i6. When the iron is to be used a plug is inserted and this is provided with an extension cord not shown. The rubber tubing supplying the water to the 40 nozzle should preferably be attached to the extension cord and it may be extended to any suitable source of supply, such as an elevated tank or' the like. By attaching the tubing to the ex'- Atension cord it will move freely with the same 45 when the iron is in use and as such will not interfere with the work. When the iron is inuse, it will be grasped by the handle B and as the button i5 is disposed at one side thereof and directly beneath the 'thumb' of the operator, it can be 50 quickly and readily depressed whenever a. spray vis desired. When depressing the button the arm I 2 is moved away from the tubing and as such permits it to spread or open so that water will W. to the nozzle to be 'sprayed in a forward di- 55 rection by the same, the exact direction of the spray being controlled by ladjusting the head 8 so as to throw the spray as required. If a narrow ribbon is being ironed, the head may be rotated so that the perforations I0 will assume a vertical position, and if wide surfaces are to be sprinkled the head will be rotated so that the perforations will assume a horizontal position. Again, by tilting the head a spray may be directed to one side or another or forward as occasion will demand; the adjustment of the head of the spray nozzle being quickly and easily accomplished by merely grasping the head and rotating or tilting it.

The valve mechanism employed is of the pinched type as the water is shut off by the pinching action of the arm I2 against the tube, as clearly shown in Fig. 3; the flow of Water through the tube being regulated by merely depressing the arm through means of the button and if large pieces are being worked upon and a continuous spray is desired the button may be depressed to such an extent that the arm I2 will move out through the bottom of the slot I4, see Fig. 4, where it may be secured in open position by swinging the arm into engagement with the notch Ilia, thus relieving the operation of applying pressure to the button at all times.

In operation it has been found that one or more drips may escape from the spray nozzle when the water supply is shut 01T. Such drips are fairly large and tend to form spots which are too damp. To remove or dry out such a wet spot with a hot iron will sometimes result in scorching the surrounding cloth. To avoid such annoyance and damage a drip pan is employed and is generally indicated at E. It is detachably secured to the bracket 4 by providing a forwardly extending tongue I1. 'I'he pan is cup-shaped, as shown in Fig. 4, and is provided with an extension I'Ia.

l It telescopes with relation to the tongue I'I so that it can be quickly applied or removed. A pad of any suitable absorbingmaterial, such as shown at I8, is placed in the pan or cup and retained therein by a perforated plate I9 which is mounted loosely within the cup so that it may be pressed downwardly against the absorbent material. The

` plate I9 is preferably retained against removal from the cup as by lugs bent from the upper edge of the cup as shown in Fig. 4, and in this manner the absorbent material is retained against accidental removal. Any drips which escape from the nozzle will strike the perforated plate and will drain through the same to be absorbed by the pad I8, and if the pad becomes saturated it is a simple matter to release it from the tongue I'I and then to carry it to the kitchen sink and merely apply pressure on the perforated plate. Such pressure squeezes the pad vI8"'and releases the excess water content. The drip pan can then be re-applied and will function as described. In fact, all of the mechanism comprising the sprinkler attachment is exceedingly simple in construction and operation and all adjustments and operations are quickly and easily accomplished, and no interference with the main work in hand, towit, that of ironing, is encountered.

Flat irons, such as shown in Fig. 1, are made by numerous manufacturers and are of varying sizes and. shapes. The arms 2 supporting the handle B may also vary to some extent and adjustment of the housing with relation to the attaching bracket 4 is thus important, as it permits thehousing to assume a substantially horizontal position regardless of the shape or angle of the iron 2. The tongue I'I is bendable and so is the tube 6 so it can be seen that all adjustments required are easily taken care of, and while these and other features have been more or less specically described and illustrated, we wish it understood that various changes may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims. Similarly, that the materials and inish of the several parts employed may be such as the manufacturer may decide, cr varying conditions or uses may demand.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent iszl. In a device of the character described a housing, a spray nozzle secured thereto, a flexible tubing extending through the housing and connected with the nozzle to supply water thereto, a spring in the housing and an arm actuated by the spring and extending crosswise of the housing and engageable with the tube to pinch it and shut 01T the flow of water to the nozzle, and a button carried by the spring actuated arm whereby the arm is depressed and moved away from the flexible tube to permit the tube to expand and water to ow to the nozzle.

2. In a device of the character described a housing, a spray nozzle secured thereto, a exible tubing extending through the housing and connected with the nozzle to supply water thereto, a helical spring anchored 'at one end in the housing, an arm forming an extension of said spring and extending crosswise of the housing and engageable with the tube to pinch it and shut olf the ow of water to the nozzle, and a button carried by the spring actuated arm whereby the arm is depressed and moved away from the flexible tube to permit the tube to expand and water to flow to the nozzle.

3. In a device of the character described a housing, a spray nozzle secured thereto, a flexible tubing extending through the housing and connected with the nozzle to supply water thereto, a helical spring anchored at one end in the housing, an arm forming an extension of said spring and extending crosswise of the housing and engageable with the tube to pinch it and shut off the flow of water to the nozzle, a button carried by the spring actuated arm whereby the arm is depressed and moved away from the flexible tube to permit the tube to expand and Water to ow to the nozzle, and means for retaining the spring actuated arm in depressed position.

4. In a device of the character described a bracket adapted to be clamped to the handle of a fiat iron, a tongue projecting forwardly from the bracket, a drip collector comprising a pan to contain a water absorbing material, means for detachably securing the pan to the tongue, a perforatedcoverplate onvfthe pan resting-on top of Vthe water absorbing material, means retaining a spherical member, a head rotatably and tiltably mounted on the spherical member, and a plate secured in the head in front of the spherical member, said plate having a relatively narrow band of spray orices formed therein whereby the area. to be sprayed may be controlled by rotating and tilting the head.

6. An attachment for a fiat iron handle comprising a bracket adapted to be secured to the handle, a housing carried by the bracket, a spray nozzle carried by the housing, a tube extending through the housing and connected with the nozzle to supply water thereto, and a valve carried by the housing cooperating with the tube to control the flow of water.

'1. An attachment for a fiat iron handle comprising a bracketadapted to be secured to the handle, a housing carried by the bracket, a spray nozzle carried by the housing, a tube extending through the housing and connected with the nozzle to supply Water thereto, and a valve carried by the housing cooperating with the tube to control the flow of water, said valve being normally spring-closed and means on the housing co-acting with the valve to maintain it-in an open position.

8. In combination with a sprinkler attachment 'for at irons comprising a sprinkler nozzle, a drip pan positioned beneath said nozzle, an absorbent'material in said drip pan, and means carried by the pan for squeezing excess moisture from the absorbent material the material from the pan.

ARTHUR V. JACKSON. AUGUSTA R. JACKSON.

without removing 10 

